An elderly widow neighbor of mine has just purchased one of the new "Heat Surge" electric heaters with a real Amish built wooden fireplace enclosure. I had been reading about these and had a keen interest in them to see how the appearance of burning logs was accomplished with electric heat. It is a pretty piece of furniture alright and is apparently well constructed. The imitation fire is produced by a revolving globe which allows light to shine through various shades of coloring which produces the appearance of burning logs. Some years ago, there were lamps produced which used this principal to appear as a waterfall in motion, plus other images, etc. I wanted to examine the heater including the descriptive label, but I didn't want to bother the lady, nor did I want to discourage her in anyway over her purchase.
But all of their claims do not hold up under scrutiny. They say: "uses less energy than it takes to run a coffee maker"! They say that you can lower your heating bills by as much as 50%. The beautiful fireplace is on wheels and you can move it from room to room. And indeed it does have an appearance of burning logs in the fireplace. But let's look for a moment at their claims.
Uses less energy than it takes to run a coffee maker. That may not be an out and out lie, but it is misleading at best. First of all, it would have to be an extra large coffee maker. Perhaps a commercial sized one. According to their figures, the heater produces 5110 BTU's of heat. That figures out to be exactly 1500 watts of electricity used. My current coffee maker, 12 cup Mr. Coffee automatic, uses 900 watts of electricity for the time it is brewing the coffee. The most I have known of a coffee maker using was 1200 watts. But giving them that there are some perhaps that do use up to 1500 watts, they only run for some 3 to 5 minutes in brewing. And their claim that you can save up to 50% on your gas heating bill. This is explained by their suggestion that you turn your central heat off and use the heater to heat only one room at a time. This would no doubt do what they say, but is quite inconvenient and when very cold, it takes a 1500 watt heater some length of time to warm a room.
But, it is as the EdenPURE heaters, it has to be used properly while using your gas discreetly.
As in all cases of electric heat, 1500 watts is the highest legal wattage allowed to be used on anything that is to be plugged into an 120 volt outlet. So regardless of the heater you buy anywhere or any type, you will not be able to buy one which draws more than 1500 watts of energy unless it is to be used on higher voltage lines. And 1500 watts will produce 5,000 BTU's of heat. (Or more precisely up to 5110 BTU assuming the heater is efficient). That includes this new Heat Surge Amish heater, the EdenPURE and the regular old coil heaters. In fact the Heat surge is a coil type.
So here is the difference, you can buy the old type, non-pretentious coil/fan models from about $30.00 up to around $100.00 depending on the construction and styling, and in some cases the name brand reputation. Or you can buy the EdenPURE or it's sister Sun Twin and pay from $349.00 up to near $500.00 and you get a prettier piece of furniture, on rollers with Infrared heating tubes. Or you can buy this new Amish Heat Surge heater with a nice, although small wooden fireplace mantel with a coil/fan system and a roller drum/light designed to give you the flame appearance of burning logs. For this you pay $587.00 for the cherry wood model or $547.00 for the oak model, plus optional $30.00 for remote control and 3 year extended warranty. They have a normal 1 year warranty.
My particular thoughts on this new heater is that the price is a lot to pay for a 1500 watt heater, unless the fireplace setting is something you are willing to pay for. Also I find no evidence of these heaters having been on the market long enough to be assured of their longevity or the extent of the company's service in case of problems with the heater. Also, the methods of the company's present advertising smells of deceitfulness. They have been running full page ads in Referring to "An Amish Man's Miracle Heater" with pictures of an Amish man holding one side of a sign and some other fellow holding the other side, which says "UL Approved". Then further down it says "How to get free heaters" "limit two" it then tells you can get a free heater when you buy the fireplace cover for $298.00. Or if you want to buy the heater alone, it will cost you $249.00. The company website seems much more truthful than their big ads. Some think there must be a large advertising agency involved, perhaps working on commission basis.
Plus the biggest deceitful impression is that it is made in an Amish shop right here in the U.S. Several of my sources say no, the heater itself is made in China. Supposedly the wooden mantle cover is built by the Amish and the heater and mantle are assembled and sold by a company in Ohio named Heat Surge.com. If you have a serious interest in one of these heaters I suggest that you visit their website and from their home page you may click the "contact us" button and you will find toll free numbers to their sales and also one to their customer service.
I have no criticism of the heaters themselves at this point, only the excessive claims made and inferred in their advertising. Plus I feel the price is much higher than I am willing to pay:
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